The Secret to Digital Marketing in 2015

Digital marketing is constantly evolving – new social platforms emerge, algorithmic updates restructure how we think about SEO best practices, new buzzwords materialize that dictate trends. Every year there are new trends. For the last 3-4 years, “mobile” has been the it word. Before that, it was blogging. Or search engines. Or the endlessly used phrase “content is king.” There are always new tools, new innovations, new hurdles, new expectations. But I see 2015 as a year that won’t be dictated by as strong of a focus on newer, faster, shinier, but rather a return to better.

In 2015, consistency will be the priority above all other things.

We all know that content is king. Content content content. It has been drilled into our heads for years – create great content! Write better content; tell better stories! Distribute great content! The “if you build it, they will come” mentality from Field of Dreams has rubbed off on marketers so there’s an expectation that if you just create great content people will automatically find it. We know that isn’t really true, but it doesn’t negate the importance of great content.

However, 2015 is going to be the year of consistency. Consistency in social media posting. Consistency in blogging and updating websites. Consistency in implementing white hat SEO, organic link building, and viable content marketing efforts that seek to inform rather than sell.

Most importantly, consistency of messaging. Creating a cross channel experience that invites users to engage with a business or a brand, rather than simply seeing it.

We’ve seen companies try to focus on creating a mobile experience, but we still run into inconsistent mobile experiences that don’t feel authentic to the business. In a society driven by converged media – when the customer changes platform and interacts differently with businesses in different ways, the quest for consistency should be paramount in the digital experiences you create. SEO, blogging, social media posting, PPC optimization – they all work most effectively when you do it consistently and when there’s a strategic thread that unites them all together.

The secret to marketing success in 2015 will be written in the journey of discovering truth and effectiveness by building on consistent movement, a steady stream of data, and an unfailing commitment to analyzing the results. Consistency is the new king.